THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM
»Never Machine«
OUT: November 25th, 2016
Line-up: / THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM online:Leif Edling| bass
NiklasStålvind| vocals
Marcus Jidell| guitars
Andreas (Habo) Johansson| drums / doomsdaykingdom.se
nuclearblast.de/thedoomsdaykingdom
The story of THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOMbegan two years ago, when CANDLEMASS-mastermind Leif Edling decided that he needed another outlet for his songwriting.Due to a severe case of chronic fatigue syndrome, Leif had to put CANDLEMASS on pause for a while, and just concentrate on getting better. Starting another band in such a difficult situation might not be the first advice that would pop into a therapist’s mind, but Leif has always walked different paths to everyone else. And therefore the answer to his problem became THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM.
"First my blood pressure went through the roof and my heart was racing like crazy, after years of intense work and too much stress. Two years later I collapsed right before Christmas 2014”, mastermind Leif admits. “I hit the wall - hard! So my doctor said: ‘Take these meds and do nothing’. I couldn't read, hardly talk, no TV, no computers. I was basically just a vegetable on the bloody couch.”
Being the driven bandleader, fixer and songwriter that he had been for years before the collapse, he thought that he could use his 'hiatus' from the music scene in the best possible way..... Write intense riffs and gloomy tracks with a therapeutic purpose – the outcome were four haunting songs of doom and absorbing darkness with a pinch of 70’s vintage sound, united on this demo EP. But this is only the beginning and the KINGDOM will slowly grow… the band’s first full-length release will swallow the light of day in spring 2017.
"There I was, on my back on the sofa, totally burnt out, doing absolutely zero. So I decided to pick up my old acoustic guitar and try to play a bit every day. If it was only for one or two minutes, it didn't matter because I HAD to do it! I was going crazy being so passive for god's sake! I'm a creative person and to be unproductive for several years is not an option for me."
AVATARIUM’s second hit release »Girl with the Raven Mask«and the latest CANDLEMASSEP »Death Thy Lover« was written on that old and cracked acoustic guitar and now it is time to reveal another album that has beenwritten by the “most burnt-out person in Scandinavia” as Leif jokingly calls himself.
"I wrote a heavy prog album for AVATARIUM and the »Death Thy Lover« EP within the framework for CANDLEMASS. With THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM I wanted to broaden my musical scope and revisit my love for NWOBHM, early 80s metal, as well as what BLACK SABBATH did in the mid 70’s. The metal I grew up with. The music I love so much!”
But it was a visit in the catacombs of Paris that gave Leif the idea for THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOMin the first place. "I was there in the catacombs. Long dark tunnels; pile after pile of skulls and bones; of course the incredible atmosphere of the unholy dead’s final resting place. I could really empathize with them. I felt that I had to write some music inspired by the catacombs of Paris!"
So prepare to crawl down into the empire of the dead, where the DoomfatherLeif Edling is already waiting at the end of the hypnotizing spiral staircase…